VALLEY OF IHLARA The Valley of Ihlara is located in a spectacular canyon. As well as interesting churches it is an area of natural beauty. Enjoy shady walks along the banks of the Melendiz River under plane and pistachio trees. Important churches to see are the Kokar Church with its colourful frescoes, the very old Egri Tas Church and the 11th century Yilanli Church which has paintings of an unusual style.
VALLEY OF ZELVE The Valley of Zelve has one of the most fantastic landscapes of Cappadocia. This valley was inhabited up to 1953 and up to the 20th century Muslims and Christians lived together in peace. In 1967 Zelve was made into an open air museum. Explore the labyrinthine valley of cave houses, steps, passages, galleries, churches and dovecots. The exceptional quality of the churches is that the frescoes are dated before the time of the Iconoclastic Controversy. Religious images are rare and attest to this region’s rejection of iconoclasm. The Üzümlü Church has impressive frescoes from the 8th/9th centuries.
POTTERY CITY AVANOS Avanos is located on the banks of the Kızılırmak River, the Red River, which gets its name from the clay that it deposits. The Kızılırmak River is the longest and most important river in Turkey. The pottery has brought fame and wealth to Avanos which has been a centre for pottery since ancient times. Today there are about 100 potteries. You can watch the potters at work in their workshops and there are numerous shops to buy souvenirs.
MONASTERY OF HACIBEKTAS The dervish lodge in Hacıbektaş is a place of pilgrimage where the Order of Bektaşi was founded. It was founded by Hacı Bektaş Veli, born in 1248, who studied philosophy, physics literature and theology. In Osmanic times the Order had great influence. The Bektaşi differ in many ways to the orthodox Islamic faith; women don’t veil their heads and are accepted as equal. Their faith was passed on by word of mouth by folk songs and poetry. An example being the famous poet Yunus Emre.
